The present invention generally relates to a remote-controlled copying apparatus, and more particularly to a remote-controlled copying apparatus having a facsimile interface unit in which the operations of the apparatus are remote controlled from a remote telephone unit via a telephone line.
In digital copying machines, an image signal is read from a document by a reading unit, and the image signal is processed to produce a recording signal. A laser diode of a recording unit is driven in accordance with the recording signal to emit a laser light, so that an image of the document is reproduced on a photosensitive medium by the laser light from the laser diode.
In the digital copying machine described above, the reading unit for reading an image signal from a document and the recording unit for recording an image of the document are separate function units each of which units can be operated independently. It has been proposed to combine one of such function units with an external system so that the external system can have the function of the connected unit.
Currently, there is a telephone system in which a voice from a receiver of the telephone system is recorded and a signal of the recorded voice is sent to an external unit via a telephone line. With recent development of telephone systems, it is possible to perform automatic operations of electric units at home by using a telephone unit at a remote location when the user is absent from home.
Usually, a high-performance, multi-function digital copying machine installed in a business office is shared by many office workers. Thus, when the digital copying machine is being operated by some office workers, others must wait until the digital copying machine is in an "not in use" condition.
Therefore, when the digital copying machine is being continuously operated, it is desirable for other users to make a call to the machine from a remote telephone unit (for example, an extension telephone system of the office), so that a desired operation of the machine is performed in a remote control procedure after the digital copying machine becomes in the "not in use" condition. However, it is difficult for the conventional digital copying machine to reliably carry out the above described remote-control procedure without experiencing difficulties.